Leaving Cygnus by Dan Palladino
Single Review by Dyan Garris, New Age CD
Deep space. . .aaaah, that mystical mystery. “Leaving Cygnus” the new single from Dan Palladino is just that. This is almost 9 minutes of very deep meditation music.
The title of the single refers to the northern constellation in the Milky Way galaxy, “Cygnus,” which is also referred to as “The Swan.” Cygnus also contains a well-known pattern of stars known as the “Northern Cross.” For those so inclined, Cygnus has a rich mythological history worth delving into.
Dan says that much of the music he creates, including “Leaving Cygnus,” is influenced by his analysis of the complex music of bands such as Rush, and other progressive bands of that era. Hence, he says, the title is also a nod to the late Neil Peart, drummer/lyricist for progressive rock band Rush, who was a co-composer of the piece “Cygnus X-1.”
This composition, “Leaving Cygnus,” was created by first playing a suspended chord drone on various instruments and then from that creating a looping, undulating bed for the rest of the composition. From there, electric sitar melodies began to arise, and Dan added pulsating synths, finger cymbals, singing bowls, and various to add to the overall mystical feeling.
And mystical it is. There is something quite relaxing and even “trance inducing” about this piece. In fact, if you can’t totally relax here, I’m not sure where that would even happen. I listened to it several times and each time found myself feeling more and more deeply serene, with a tranquility that seemed to seep gently into the solar plexus area. It certainly didn’t even feel like any time had passed at all, by the way. Was that really 8:40 minutes? Hmmm. This is a transportive piece that will transport you into almost instant peace.
Something else I found quite interesting is that one might think you’d experience an out of body, floating off into space kind of feeling while listening to this, but exactly the opposite happened, at least for me. So, while I found this ultra-relaxing and super engaging, I also found it very grounding and centering at the same time. This is an absolutely necessary track on any meditation playlist. It’s ambient Heaven on Earth. Brilliant, truly brilliant.
Hypnotic, video with consciousness expanding, fractal, kaleidoscope visuals make the “Leaving Cygnus” experience complete: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiW5Y0EwFGQ&feature=youtu.be
Get “Leaving Cygnus” here: http://www.danpalladinomusic.com/leavingcygnus.html
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3E8HxpP7s5LvXTKidsLYe7?si=POvYyEQsSJqCpQ04xxUhNQ
